The Top 10 College Football Players of the last Decade

 When compiling a list like this there are always going to be worthy athletes who are left off but I want to be clear that I am basing my list off of a particular players career and not one season.  That's why you wont see someone like Vince Young on my list.  He may well have had one of the top individual seasons of all-time in 2005 but he simply wasnt worthy based on his entire career in my opinion.  Also, just to be clear, the time frame I am using is 1999-2009.  With that said, let the debate begin...If you feel like someone is under ranked, over ranked, or I completely left someone off of the list, please chime in.  Remember, this list isnt based strictly off of championships or individual accomplishments.  This is who I thought was the best of the best based on their play on the field.

Lets start with those who just missed the top 10.  Vince Young, Ndamukong Suh, Chris Weinke, Julius Peppers, Jason White, Eric Crouch, Adrian Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald

10: Bryant McKinnie


McKinnie left The University of Miami having not allowed a sack in 2 full seasons, he also finished 8th in the Heisman Voting as a Senior.  Among his individual honors he was a 2 time All American, winner of the Outland Trophy, and was even named CNN Sports Illustrated's Player of the Year.


9: Michael Crabtree

Crabtree left Texas Tech as a two time Bieitnikoff Award Winner, two time 1st team All American, had back to back seasons of 1962 receiving yards and 22 TDs followed by 1165 receiving yards and 19 TDs.  He also had a 5th place Heisman finish, and most notably he caught the most famous pass in Texas Tech history as his team upset #1 Texas at home.


8: Darren McFadden


McFadden was a scintillating college talent, rushing for over 1100 yards in all 3 seasons including over 1800 in his final season.  He was a two time Doak Walker Award Winner as well as a 2 time Heisman Trophy Runner Up.

7:  Colt Mccoy

McCoy is the NCAA's all time winningest QB at 45, he is the only collegiate QB to win 10 games in all four college seasons, he also has the highest single season completion percentage in NCAA history at 76.7%.  McCoy is a two time Heisman Finalist and he lead his Longhorns to the 2009 Big 12 title and the National Title game where he would be hurt and have to leave the game in the 1st quarter.

6: Sam Bradford


Bradford came out of a tense QB battle for OU as a redshirt freshman and ended up leading the nation in passing efficiency.  He would repeat this feat as a redshirt sophomore as he lead his Sooners to the National Title game while winning the Heisman Trophy along the way. For his career Bradford won 2 conference titles, lead his team to 2 BCS bowl games, and finished with 88 TDs, only 16 ints, and a 67% career completion percentage.


5: Reggie Bush


The first thing most people will say when seeing this is that Reggie Bush cheated and that is very true, having been stripped of his Heisman trophy and possibly costing his team a national championship down the road.  When deciding if I would include Bush on this list I came to the conclusion that on the field, he was as dynamic of a player as we have seen in the last decade and there was no way I couldnt include him.  Bush won the Heisman in 2005 as well as numerous other prestigous awards including the Doak Walker Award and the Walter Camp award, all have been vacated.  You can take away all of the awards but at the end of the day, Reggie Bush was one of the most amazing college athletes that ive ever watched and his cheating doesnt change what he did on the field.



4: Ladanian Tomlinson



The Doak Walker Award winner in 2000, Tomlinson had a stellar college career.  This was highlighted by a single game NCAA rushing record of 406 yards as well as back to back seasons of 1850 and 2158 rushing yards.  Tomlinson also found himself in New York as a Heisman finalist where he would finish 4th.





3:  Ron Dayne


The NCAA's all time career rushing leader as well as the 1999 Heisman Trophy Winner, Ron Dayne simply dominated for the Badgers.  His career was book-ended by 1800 yard rushing seasons, 12 200 yard games, and is one of only 5 running backs in NCAA history to have 1000 yards rushing in all four seasons of his college career.  Dayne was also a 2 time MVP of perhaps the most prestigious bowl game in college football, The Rose Bowl.

2:  Matt Leinart


The biggest number to me is 37-2, that's Leinarts record as a starting QB.  Once you get past that you will see 1 BCS National Title, 1 AP National Title, 99 TDs and only 25 ints, as well as a Heisman Trophy. He was a two time Heisman Finalist.


1:  Tim Tebow

A Three time All American, 2 time National Champion, a Two time Heisman Finalist and One time Heisman winner, Tebow basically owned college football while he played.  He is the only player in NCAA history to have 20 passing and rushing TDs in one season.